The present invention relates to a system and method of global product management for a vehicle and a fleet of vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a network centric architecture, including an onboard microserver system and a ground mirror database, for managing a fleet of vehicles.
An onboard microserver system may be used to create a network centric aircraft maintenance and management architecture for an aircraft, as well as other types of vehicles. The onboard microserver system allows data to be collected, stored and/or processed for the various subsystem components of the aircraft. The data may be converted into usable knowledge that is made available to selected users, such as maintenance personnel, suppliers and airline operators. Communications to and from the onboard microserver system, including a transfer of data, may be made locally and remotely using known communication means, including, but not limited to, satellite, cellular, wireless LAN, radio, and cable.
The onboard microserver system makes it easy to extract data from the aircraft locally or remotely. However, there is a need for a system and method to manage the communications and data transfers to and from the aircraft, including management down to a level of the subsystem controllers on the aircraft. Further, there is a need for the system to be able to manage this information for a plurality or a fleet of aircraft or other vehicles, combine the data and communications pertaining to each aircraft, and convert the data into usable information for managing a business.